Jill Karsten joined the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) as Program Director for Education and Diversity in November 2005. In addition to program management responsibilities associated with GEO's education and diversity portfolio, Dr. Karsten serves as leader for the GEO Education Team and represents NSF on the U.S. Climate Change Science Program ad-hoc Education Interagency Working Group. She is a member of the NSF-wide Broadening Participation Working Group and was appointed co-Executive Secretary for the National Science Board Committee on Education and Human Resources in 2009.

Trained as a marine geologist, Dr. Karsten spent 1 year at Northwestern University and 12 years at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology as a sea-going research scientist, studying volcanic and tectonic processes occurring at mid-ocean ridges. In conjunction with this research, she participated in 16 research cruises (4 as Chief or Co-Chief Scientist). While at UHM, Dr. Karsten was Chair of the Department of Geology and Geophysics Graduate Admissions Committee and served on the American Geophysical Union's Committee on Education and Human Resources.

Before coming to NSF, Dr. Karsten was a Program Officer in the Marine Geology & Geophysics program at the Office of Naval Research (2000-2001), where she helped manage grant programs related to acoustic studies of the seafloor. She subsequently served as Education Manager for the American Geophysical Union (2001-2005).

Dr. Karsten earned her B.A. degree in Geochemistry from Wellesley College (1977) and her M.S. (1980) and Ph.D. (1988) degrees in Geological Oceanography from the University of Washington, where she also conducted research focused on water diffusion in magmatic systems.